Bridgeton pioneer. (Bridgeton, N.J.) 1884-1919, 1887-06-02
TO THE BOYS IN BLUE.
Rev. G. S. Sykes breaches to
the Ct. A. r. and Sons
of Veterans.

The members of the G.. A. r. and
Sons of Veterans in full uniform atten-
ded service in Central church on Sun
day morning and listened to an i'm
pressive sermon from Rev. G. S.
Sykes. The pastor chose for his text
"A Good Soldier of Jesus Christ"
from Timothy, 18th chapter and 18th,
verse.
Enlistment said the pastor was the
first step in the life of soldier. When
he enlists he takes the oath of alleg-
lance. He has no longer will of his
comedies with the will of the power
that governs. He remembered when
he took the solemn oath of soldier.
To desert he knew meant the risk of
death. Possibly" said he, your
minds go back when you did the same. :"
To become a soldier of Christ is
quite as radical as the step taken by
the Federal soldier We are under
Gods control Gods command is
''Come from among them and be ye
separate" This distinction is between
the clean and unclean. The change
is declared in the Scriptures to be from
nature to grace.
When a man enlists in the army he
leaves his family and home. There
is a hope that after awhile he may re-
turn to his home. He lays himself
upon the altar of his country. So in
Christian warfare. We must give up
all that we may battle for God. The
word of God teaches us that we must
give up everything which is not in
bearing with the will Of God. The
surrender must be made if we become
good soldiers of Christ. We must be
fully equipped for the warfare. The
conflict is hand to hand one. The
world is our foe The flesh is our
enemy Put on the whole arlnor of
God. Gird yourself with truth. Put
GA the breast plate of righteousness.
Have the consciousness of right to
shield you from your doubts. Have
your feet shod with the Gospel of God
You must be ready to go on special
duty. My comrade God does not com
mand us to move on as church but
as individuals. We must have the
shield of faith to resist doubts in our
own minds, and finally we must have
the helmet of salvation as the full
armor of good soldier. @4r-
A good soldier must be always obe-
dent. There were times when we
were ordered to change our plans in
the Federal service, my friends. I can
remember when at Fair Oaks, right in
the sight of the Rebel capital, we were
eager to press on, and yet an order
came to fall back But it was ours to
obey as true soldiers He told of a
number of his experiences among them
at Williamsport, when he was fearful
of danger, bat he appealed to God
and immediately his fears left. The
good soldier of Jesus Christ must
obey.
My comrades, to win yonder bright
crown, we must stand firm. Blessed
is the man who is tempted and tried
and withstands it. Comrades, the flag
of Jesus Christ must not go down. If
We have good government, we must
| have faithful soldiers. I come as a
representative of Christ to tell you of
the sacrifice On Calvary, and that too,
for you and for me. We must have an
interest in our enlistment, and our
interest must be coincident with duty.
Your enlistment was not a romance,
you had an interest The noblest
achievement of your life will be ac-
complished as a soldier of Christ. |
want to be on the winning side, don't
you?